1. (Field of the Invention)
This invention relates to an electronic information equipment such as a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cPCxe2x80x9d), a word processor (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cWPxe2x80x9d) or the like, and more particularly to an improvement in construction of a key board and a printer for the equipment.
2. (Related Background Art)
The conventional lap top type of electronic information equipment includes a equipment body mounted on a table, a key board which has plural input keys and is installed at a front side on an upper surface of the equipment body, a rotatable display which is pivotally mounted on a center portion on the upper surface of the equipment body in such a manner as to cover the key board, a built-in printer which is provided at an inner portion of the equipment body and serves to perform a printing on a recording sheet, a sheet supply port which is provided at an inner portion of the equipment body and through which the recording sheet is inserted, and a sheet discharge port which is provided at an inner portion of the equipment body and through which the printed recording sheet is discharged. The electronic information equipment may include a mouse or track ball as a instruction input device when it comprises a PC.
The key board has plural input keys which are actuated with a pushing operation and longitudinally and laterally arranged in a matrix. Ordinarily, the mouse and the track ball are optionally installed to the equipment body, and placed at a right or left side of the key board on the table. The mouse and the track, serving as the instruction input device, has an advantage which is not given to the input key, and they are operated solely or in parallel with an operation of the input key by an operator. The printer is so designed as to be operated after the display is slantly approached to the key board and a recording sheet is inserted through the sheet supply port.
Recently, miniaturization of an electronic information equipment has been required, and in association with this requirement a key board space has been required to be effectively used. However, the conventional lap top type electronic information equipment has been designed in the construction as described above, and the input keys are merely provided on the key board. Therefore, irrespective of the recent requirement of the effective use of the key board space, the effective use of the key board space has not been achieved in the conventional electronic information equipment.
In addition, the mouse and the track ball are placed at the right or left side of the key board on the table, and thus an operator""s action to the equipment is necessarily restricted to an operation using his right or left hand. This restriction of the operator""s action constitutes a remarkable obstacle to the operation of the input key, and the disadvantage that the operator""s action is necessarily restricted to the operation using his right or left hand also constitutes an obstacle to a simultaneous operation of both of the mouse or track ball and the input key, so that there occurs a disadvantage that an effective input operation can not be performed.
Further, since the printer can not be used unless the display is slantly approached to the key board and the recording sheet is inserted through the sheet supply port, the user can not visually check both of the recording sheet which is being subjected to a printing operation and the screen of the display on which a printed image is being displayed. Therefore, an operator""s visual comparing check can not be performed unless the printing operation is completed, and thus a series of printing operations and the visual comparing check are ineffectively carried out.
This invention was made in view of the foregoing, and has an object to provide an electronic information apparatus in which effective use of a surface space of the key board is achieved to satisfy the requirement of miniaturization of the apparatus, the input operation of the instruction input device can be effectively carried out, and a series of printing operations and a visual compare checking operation can be remarkably effectively carried out.
In order to attain the above object, an electronic information apparatus according to this invention includes a display provided to an apparatus body for displaying a data on a screen thereof, and a key board having plural input keys and provided at a front side on an upper surface of the apparatus body, is characterized in that the plural input keys are collected into two sets of input keys, and the two sets of input keys are eccentrically located at right and left sides with respect to a central portion on the upper surface of the key board and inclined from a front end of the key board toward a rear end thereof in such a manner as to be symmetrical at the right and left sides on the key board.
Each of the two sets may be constructed by rows of plural laterally-arranged input keys which are arranged in a planar and substantially-rectangular form, in which a distance between neighboring rows at the front side is set to be longer than a distance between neighboring rows at the rear side.
Further, a pointing device may be interposed between the sets of input keys at the center on the upper surface of the key board.
In addition, the pointing device may comprise a track ball input device having a rotatably-driven track ball which is freely detachably installed in a mount hole formed at the center on the upper surface of the key board.
Further, inside of the apparatus body may be provided a detector for detecting a security state on the basis of detachment of the track ball from the mount hole.
Still further, a palm rest for supporting a palm with which the pointing device is operated may be mounted at the front side on the upper surface of the key board.
Still further, the apparatus body may contain a built-in voice input device provided at the front side of the sets of input keys.
Still further, an electric wave transmitter-receiver may be provided adjacently to the display and at the rear side of the sets of input keys on the key board.
Still further, the display may contain built-in voice output speakers at both sides of the screen thereof.
Still further, the display may be pivotally supported through a hinge at the rearmost end of the apparatus body.
Still further, a built-in printer may be provided between said hinge and said electric wave transmitter-receiver at a rear portion of said apparatus body.
In addition, the printer may include a sheet supply port formed adjacently to the hinge in the apparatus body, a sheet discharge port formed at a parabola antenna side in the apparatus body, a sheet passageway for performing intercommunication between the sheet supply port and the sheet discharge port, a platen roller rotatably supported by a shaft at the central portion of the sheet passageway in such a manner as to be slidable along a reverse surface of a recording sheet, a driving motor for rotating the platen roller, an auxiliary roller which is driven-rotatably supported by a shaft and has a peripheral surface partially located in the sheet passageway so as to be slidable along an obverse surface of the recording sheet, and a printing head for performing a printing on the surface of the recording sheet, the printing head being slidably mounted inside of the apparatus body and located beneath the platen roller.
Further, the sheet supply port is inclined toward the hinge.
Still further, the sheet discharge port has an upper edge portion projecting toward said hinge.
According to the electronic information apparatus according this invention, a key board of the apparatus has plural input keys and provided at a front side on an upper surface of the apparatus body, in which the plural input keys are divided into two groups, the groups being spaced with each other, the plural input keys of each group are arranged in plural rows, row arrangement directions of the groups across each other with a predetermined angle, and the group being arranged as to be substantially symmetrical with respect to a center line extending from a front end of the key board to a back end of the key board.
Therefore, it is hardly required for an operator to bend his wrists in a horizontal direction in an input operation, so that the input work using the input keys can be remarkably functionally carried out.
Further, since the pointing device is provided between the groups of input keys at the center on the surface of the key board, the instruction input device can be operated by any one of the right and left hands, that is, it is possible that the instruction input device is operated by the right hand when the set of input keys at the left side are operated, while it is operated by the left hand when the group of input keys at the right side are operated. Therefore, the input operation of the instruction input device and the input operation of the input keys can be easily carried out in parallel with each other. In addition, this parallel input operation enables the function of the input keys to be implemented by the instruction input device, so that the total number of the input keys can be largely reduced.
Further, since the detector for detecting the security on the basis of the detachment of the track ball from the mount hole is buried inside of the apparatus body, an outsider can be surely prevented from using the electronic information apparatus insofar as the operator keeps the track ball.
Still further, since the palm rest for supporting a hand with which the pointing device is operated is provided at the front side on the surface of the key board, the track ball can be stably rotated and a misoperation can be prevented to perform a stable operation.
Still further, the built-in voice input device is provided at the front side of the plural input key sets in the apparatus body, a voice input to the personal computer may be implemented using the voice input device.
In addition, since the electric wave transmitter-receiver is provided adjacently to the display at the rear side of the plural input key sets on the upper surface of the key board, a multi-functional input operation is achievable.
In addition, since the built-in voice output speakers are provided at both sides of the screen of the display, the voice output is achievable using the speakers.
Further, the printer includes a sheet supply port formed adjacently to the hinge in the apparatus body, a sheet discharge port formed at a parabola antenna side in the apparatus body, a sheet passageway for performing intercommunication between the sheet supply port and the sheet discharge port, a platen roller rotatably supported by a shaft at the central portion of the sheet passageway in such a manner as to be slidable along a reverse surface of a recording sheet, a driving motor for rotating the platen roller, an auxiliary roller which is driven-rotatably and supported by a shaft and has a peripheral surface partially located in the sheet passageway so as to be slidable along an obverse surface of the recording sheet, and a printing head for performing a printing on the surface of the recording sheet, the printing head being slidably mounted inside of the apparatus body and located beneath the platen roller, thereby printing a displayed image on the screen of the display very easily.
Further, since the upper edge portion of the sheet discharge port is designed so as to be projected toward the hinge, a printed data on the recording sheet can be checked while overlapped with a displayed data on the screen of the display. Therefore, the printing data can be easily checked simultaneously with the printing operation, an error which would be liable to be overlooked for the displayed data on the screen of the display can be surely found out, and an operator can rapidly cope with cease of a printing operation, etc.
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not to be considered as limiting the present invention.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art form this detailed description.